Do I Need To Take Precautions At Hotels If I'm Vaccinated?

[appalachiablue]

'Do I need to take precautions at hotels if I’m vaccinated?, AP News, 7/8/21.

Most people won’t need to, but it depends on your situation.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of COVID-19 is low if you’re fully vaccinated, and that you can resume indoor and outdoor activities without wearing a mask or social distancing.

But if you have health issues, the CDC says to talk to your doctor about the need to continue taking precautions. Parents of young children may also want to be more careful until their kids are vaccinated. Guidance might vary by country as well, depending on local vaccination and infection rates.

“Hotels are safe, but I think there are individual personal factors that may sway you one way or another,” says Dr. Soniya Gandhi, associate chief medical officer at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital. To help you decide your comfort level, Gandhi suggests looking at infection and vaccination rates in the place you’re visiting. If cases are low, you should feel more confident about activities that could put you in close contact with others, like dining at a hotel restaurant or using the gym.

Most U.S. hotel chains took measures during the pandemic to reduce the risk of infections, and those changes remain in effect. Many hotels offer contactless check-in, prepackaged breakfast items instead of open buffets and more frequent cleaning of common areas...

https://apnews.com/article/travel-coronavirus-pandemic-health-lifestyle-business-b4ca9080d0e0d4cae0ac289d699230ec

[dickthegrouch]

1. Common areas are not my issue

I’m terrified of a pillow that someone else slept on without it being run through a dry cleaning machine and nuclear power plant level radiation “sanitization” (only half kidding).
Failing that, my own pillow case and a roll of Saran Wrap will be in my next travel kit.

[appalachiablue]

2. You have a point, I'm also concerned about

ventilation, in hotels and other buildings, esp. multi level.

[we can do it]

3. Surface spread has been pretty much ruled out for quite some time.

[dickthegrouch]

4. That's hard surfaces not fabric covered or sponges

Both of which would harbor liquids for much longer than a counter top or tray table.

[we can do it]

7. The virus dies quickly on surfaces. Believe whatever you want.

[Cracklin Charlie]

6. I take my own pillow, and a clean pillowcase for each day of my stay.

I don’t trust having whatever detergent they may have used against my face.

I am a bit ocd.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. The vaccines don't actually PREVENT infection

they reduce its effects.

We are both vaccinated but still wear masks in public in this Republican infested red state, because of Delta and other variants, and because I don't want to risk even a mild case of illness.

That said, I'm not convinced it is safe enough yet to be traveling in public in situations where I have to rely on someone else to have cleaned a public space sufficiently. Hotel maids can easily be asymptomatic while changing pillow cases and sheets, wiping counters, etc. they clean, but don't sterilize bathrooms.